FEBRUARY POWER RATES FALL SLIGHTLY

ATHENS, Tenn. – The power rate for February 2021 falls a bit compared to January.  That’s good news for all customers who heat their home or business with power from Athens Utilities Board (AUB).

For AUB and its customers, February’s residential rate comes in at $0.08530, just below the current January rate of $0.08617.

“It’s always good to see rates stay steady like this, even falling a bit as they are set to do in February, as we head into the core of the winter heating months,” AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough said.

As usual for this time of year, Scarbrough said, power use for many AUB customers is going up considerably as the temperature falls and remains seasonally low.

“We know every year at this time that a spike in power use is coming.  Customers have to stay warm, so heaters get a workout.  Power use will increase, sometimes dramatically, as customers crank up the heat to knock off the chill,” Scarbrough said.

February continues the winter rate season for distributors of TVA that sell power at retail, such as AUB.  Winter rates run December through March.

As it has for months now, AUB continues to keep a close eye on the current COVID situation.

“We continue to watch the situation closely, very closely, realizing how lean we run at AUB.  That story just hasn’t changed.  If we lost a couple of customer service reps or cashiers, those who interact with the public throughout the day, it would be difficult to say the least,” he said.

The AUB main office remains closed for foot traffic as the COVID situation continues in the Athens area.

“We continue to really appreciate our customers so much during this time.  We know it’s tough in our drive-through and on the phones.  It’s tough for everyone.

“We have to operate in the best way we can to ensure ongoing service to all customers.  You should see a mask on every AUB employee during the workday if they are around another person.   We urge everyone in the area to do the same for their neighbors,” Scarbrough said.

About 83 cents of every dollar that AUB’s power division collects go to TVA for wholesale power.

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